Drinking Apparatus

ABSTRACT

A drinking apparatus from which a beverage may be consumed and an expandable device for preventing the beverage from being dispensed from the drinking apparatus to a consumer after a selectable amount of time has elapsed or has substantially elapsed. The expandable device includes a soluble composition and an expandable portion. The expandable portion protrudes from the expandable device to substantially block the dispensation of the beverage from the drinking apparatus upon the partial or full dissolution of the soluble composition by a solvent. By making the beverage available to the consumer for only a limited amount of time, the drinking apparatus reduces the possibility that the consumer, and in particular, a young child, a toddler, or an infant, will drink a spoiled beverage.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a drinking apparatus from which aperson, and particularly an infant, toddler, or young child, may consumea beverage. More specifically, the present invention relates to adrinking apparatus that allows a person to drink from it for only aselectable amount of time, and then, at the end of that selectableamount of time, automatically prevents the user from drinking from itany further. Even more specifically, the present invention relates to anexpandable device, wherein a portion of the expandable device protrudesfrom the remainder of the expandable device upon the dissolution of acomposition by a solvent, and wherein the expandable device is capableof blocking a beverage from flowing from a drinking apparatus to aconsumer upon such protrusion by the portion of the expandable device.

2. Description of the Prior Art

A concern shared by many parents is that their child may become sick asa result of consuming a spoiled beverage that has been leftunrefrigerated in the child's bottle, “sippy cup” or similar containerfor an extended period of time. As any parent knows, young childrentypically do not consume an entire beverage in a single sitting. A childtherefore may take a few sips from a beverage container and then set thebeverage container in a discreet location, perhaps behind or under asofa, on the floor of an automobile, or buried under a pile of toys in atoy chest, for example. In such situations, the child may drink from thecontainer hours, or if it was lost, even days, later.

The consumption of a beverage that has been left unrefrigerated for anextended period of time, however, can present a grave health problem.Microbes, such as Escherichia coli and various Campylobacter, Listeria,Salmonella, Yersinia, and Brucella species, for example, can contaminatemilk and milk-based beverages and cause them to become too spoiled tosafely drink in just a few hours at room temperature, or in an evenshorter amount of time in an especially warm environment, such as ababy's nursery or the interior of an automobile on a warm day, forexample. The consumption of milk that has been contaminated by one ormore of these microbes by infants and children can lead to diarrhea,stomach cramps, fever, headache, vomiting, exhaustion or, in the worstof cases, death.

Unfortunately, there is no existing drinking device that a parent cangive to a child with the assurance that the child will not be able todrink a spoiled beverage from it. There is, however, one type ofcontainer, namely the insulated container, that is aimed at reducing thelikelihood that a child will consume a contaminated beverage. Insulatedcontainers are designed to keep cool beverages cool (and warm beverageswarm) for prolonged amounts of time. Insulated containers areinsufficient, however, because even though the length of time that theyare able to keep a beverage cool is prolonged, it is still limited(i.e., no more than about 12-16 hours or so). Therefore, a child whofinds an insulated container that was lost for a period of time that isless than even one day still may be at risk of consuming a highlycontaminated, and therefore highly dangerous, beverage.

Insulated containers are further insufficient because some beverages arecapable of spoiling in a matter of hours even when they are cool. It hasbeen shown, for example, that Streptomyces griseus grows in, andtherefore spoils, apple juice at temperatures that are well below roomtemperature. (See B. Siegmund et al., Journal of Agricultural and FoodChemistry, 55:6692-6699 (2007).) S. griseus has been shown to producethe toxin valinomycin (See M. A. Andersson et al., Applied andEnvironmental Microbiology, 64:4767-4773 (1998)), which may be hazardousto the nervous system, peripheral nervous system, central nervoussystem, and eye.

Insulated containers are even further insufficient because they cannotbe used safely with warm beverages. Indeed, it is more dangerous to giveto a child a warm beverage in an insulated container than it is to giveto a child a warm beverage in an uninsulated container. This is truebecause warm beverages are generally given to children at a temperaturewhich is about 37° C., and the optimal growth temperature of manymicrobes is near or within the range of about 30° C.-37° C. A warmbeverage in an insulated container therefore would remain within thisoptimal growth range for an amount of time that is substantially longerthan what an uninsulated container could keep the beverage within thatrange. Therefore, substantially more microbial growth would be expectedin an insulated container having a warm beverage than in an uninsulatedcontainer having a warm beverage.

What is needed therefore is a drinking apparatus that allows its user todrink from it for a selectable amount of time, and then, at the end ofthat selectable amount of time, automatically prevents the user fromdrinking from it any further. The present invention includes a drinkingapparatus and an expandable device that automatically blocks a beveragefrom flowing from the drinking apparatus by about the end of aselectable amount of time.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide a drinking apparatusthat is specifically is arranged to allow a consumer, and in particular,a small child, a toddler or an infant, to drink a beverage from it foronly a selectable period of time. The apparatus then automaticallyprevents the consumer from drinking from it any further. This and otherobjects are achieved with the present invention, which is a drinkingapparatus.

In one specific embodiment, the apparatus includes a beverage vessel, acap, an optional expandable device holding member, and an expandabledevice. The cap, which is removably connectable to the beverage vessel,includes a nipple member having a nipple, one or more drinking openingsformed through the nipple, and a beverage flow-through mouth, which isopposite the drinking openings.

The expandable device includes among its other components a firstmember, a spring, a soluble composition, and an expandable portion. Theexpandable portion is positioned near the flow-through mouth. In thisarrangement, any beverage that is in the beverage vessel is free to passby the expandable portion and through the openings in the nipple to theconsumer. Dissolution of the soluble composition by a solvent added tothe expandable device effects gradual movement of the first member andthe expandable portion (via the spring) toward the beverage flow-throughmouth. By about the end of the selectable amount of time, the firstmember and the expandable portion will have protruded sufficientlyenough from the expandable device to cause at least the expandableportion to block the flow-through mouth. Such blocking of theflow-through mouth prevents the beverage from flowing from within thevessel and through the flow-through mouth to the consumer.

An alternative embodiment of the drinking apparatus of the presentinvention is also described. In this alternative embodiment, thedrinking apparatus includes a beverage vessel, a cap having a mouthportion which has one or more drinking openings and a flow-throughmouth, and an expandable device. The expandable device is removablyconnectable to the cap and therefore, in this alternative embodiment,the drinking apparatus does not include the optional expandable deviceholding member. In this alternative embodiment, the expandable device isarranged and functions substantially like as described regarding theother embodiment of the present drinking apparatus to effect blocking ofthe flow-through mouth to prevent a beverage from flowing from withinthe vessel and through the flow-through mouth to the consumer at aboutthe end of a selectable amount of time.

The details of one or more examples related to the invention are setforth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Otherfeatures, objects, and advantages of the invention will be apparent fromthe description and the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a first side view of a drinking apparatus of the presentinvention in a specific embodiment, wherein a cap is removably connectedto a beverage vessel.

FIG. 2 is a second side view of the drinking apparatus of FIG. 1,wherein the cap and the beverage vessel are shown in phantom to furthershow an expandable device and an expandable device holding member of thedrinking apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the beverage vessel of FIGS. 1 and 2.

FIG. 4 is a side view of the cap of FIGS. 1 and 2.

FIG. 5 is a top view of the expandable device holding member of FIG. 2.

FIG. 6 is a first side view of the expandable device of FIG. 2.

FIG. 7 is a second side view of the expandable device of FIG. 2, whereina housing member of the expandable device is shown in phantom to allowvisualization of an inner chamber of the expandable device.

FIG. 8 is a first side view of a first member of the expanding device ofFIG. 2.

FIG. 9 is a second side view of the first member of FIG. 8, wherein aspring and a soluble composition of the invention are associated withthe first member.

FIG. 10 is a side view of the beverage vessel and the expandable deviceholding member of FIG. 2, wherein the expandable device holding memberis shown as being removably connected to the beverage vessel at aparticular region.

FIG. 11 is a close-up, side view of the cap and a portion of thebeverage vessel of FIGS. 1 and 2, wherein the cap, which is shown inphantom, is removably threaded onto the beverage vessel.

FIG. 12 is a third side view of the drinking apparatus of FIGS. 1 and 2,wherein the drinking apparatus contains a beverage that is capable offlowing from inside the beverage vessel through one or more drinkingopenings to a consumer.

FIG. 13 is a third side view of the expandable device of FIG. 2, whereinthe housing member of the expandable device is shown in phantom to allowvisualization of the inner chamber, the first member, the second member,the spring, and the soluble composition of the expandable device, and asolvent that is contained within the inner chamber.

FIG. 14 is a fourth side view of the expandable device of FIG. 2,wherein the housing member of the expandable device is shown in phantomto allow visualization of the inner chamber, the first member, thesecond member, the spring, the soluble composition, and an optionalsolvent port and sealant cap of the expandable device.

FIG. 15 is a fifth side view of the expandable device of FIG. 2, whereinthe housing member of the expandable device is shown in phantom to allowvisualization of the inner chamber, the first member, the second member,the spring, and the soluble composition of the expandable device.

FIG. 16 is a first side view of the cap and expandable device of FIG. 2,wherein the expandable device has expanded such that a portion of theexpandable device is contained within a beverage flow-through mouth ofthe cap.

FIG. 17 is a second side view of the cap and expandable device of FIG.2, wherein the expandable device has expanded such that a portion of theexpandable device flushly contacts a lip of the beverage flow-throughmouth of the cap.

FIG. 18 is a side view of a cap of the present invention in analternative embodiment.

FIG. 19 is a bottom view of the cap of FIG. 18.

FIG. 20 is a side view of an expandable device of the present inventionin an alternative embodiment.

FIG. 21 is a side view of the expandable device of FIG. 20 removablyconnected to the cap of FIG. 18, wherein the expandable device and thecap are arranged to allow a beverage to pass through the expandabledevice and the cap and to a consumer.

FIG. 22 is a close-up, side view of the expandable device of FIG. 20removably connected to the cap of FIG. 18, wherein the expandable deviceis arranged to block a beverage from flowing through the expandabledevice and the cap and to a consumer.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention is a drinking apparatus from which a beverage maybe consumed. The present drinking apparatus specifically is arranged toallow a consumer, and particularly a small child, a toddler or aninfant, to drink a beverage from it for a selectable amount of time. Thedrinking apparatus then automatically prevents the consumer fromdrinking from it any further.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, in a specific embodiment, a drinkingapparatus 10 of the present invention includes a beverage vessel 100, acap 200, an expandable device holding member 300, and an expandabledevice 400.

Referring to FIG. 3, the beverage vessel 100 includes opening 110,inner, side surface 120, outer, side surface 130, inner, bottom surface140, outer, bottom surface 150, and rim surface 160.

Referring to FIG. 4, the cap 200 includes a nipple member 210, which hasa nipple 212, one or more drinking openings 214 formed through thenipple 212, and a beverage flow-through mouth 216, which is opposite theopenings 214. The cap 200 further includes a connection member 220 forremovably connecting the cap 200 to the beverage vessel 100. The nipplemember 210 may be permanently connected to the connection member 220(and therefore the nipple member 210 may be integral with the connectionmember 220), or the nipple member 210 may be removably connectable tothe connection member 220. For example, when the nipple member 210 isremovably connectable to the connection member 220, the connectionmember 220 may be in the form of a ring and the nipple member 210 may beremovably insertable through the ring and held therein the connectionmember 220 by contact, such as shown in FIG. 4, for example. When thenipple member 210 is permanently or removably connected to theconnection member 220, the beverage flow-through mouth 216 is located atinner surface 230 of the cap 200 and the nipple 212 protrudes away fromouter, top surface 240 of the cap 200.

Referring to FIG. 5, the expandable device holding member 300 includes aplurality of beverage ports 310 of selectable size and position that areformed through the expandable device holding member 300. The expandabledevice holding member 300 also includes expandable device connectingregion 320.

Referring to FIG. 6, the expandable device 400 includes a housing member410 having an inner chamber 411 and an expandable portion 412. Referringto FIG. 7, included in the chamber 411 are a first member 420, a secondmember 430, a spring 440, and a soluble composition 450.

Referring to FIG. 8, the first member 420 includes a top region 422,which includes contact portion 423 for contacting the expandable portion412, and a center region 424, which includes a spring-retaining portion425, and a bottom region 426, which includes a solublecomposition-retaining portion 427. Referring to FIG. 9, the spring 440surrounds a portion of the center region 424 and the soluble composition450 surrounds another portion of the center region 424, such that thespring 440 is more proximal to the top region 422 than is thecomposition 450, and the composition 450 is more proximal to the bottomregion 426 than is the spring 440.

Referring again to FIG. 7, the second member 430, which is removablyconnectable to, or is permanently fixed to, the expandable device 400within the chamber 411, includes a first member-retaining portion 432.When properly arranged, the first member-retaining portion 432substantially separates the spring 440 from the composition 450.

The expandable device 400 is removably connectable to, or is optionallypermanently fixed to, the expandable device holding member 300 at theexpandable device connecting region 320. (Therefore, the expandabledevice 400 may be, but need not be, integral with the holding member300.) The skilled artisan will recognize that when the expandable device400 is removably connectable to the holding member 300, the expandabledevice 400 may be removably connectable to the holding member 300 in anyone or more of a variety of ways. For example, the expandable device 400may be snuggly fit within a portion of the holding member 300, andthereby removably connectable to the holding member 300 by tension. Asanother example, each one of the expandable device 400 and the holdingmember 300 may be threaded, and the expandable device 400 may besecurably threaded to, and removed from, the holding member 300 as oftenas the user of the apparatus 10 desires.

The expandable device holding member 300 is removably connectable to,otherwise removably associable with, or permanently fixed to, thebeverage vessel 100. (Therefore, the expandable device holding member300 may be, but need not be, integral with the beverage vessel 100.)Whereas the expandable device holding member 300 may be positioned at ornear the rim surface 160 of the beverage vessel 100, as shown in FIG.10, it is contemplated that any expandable device holding member of thepresent invention may be arranged such that it is positioned anywherealong region 134 (which is substantially the height of the vessel 100)of the vessel 100. For example, a particular expandable device holdingmember may be arranged to fit within the vessel 100 and be removablyconnectable to, or permanently fixed to, the vessel 100 at inner, sidesurface 120.

The cap 200 is removably connectable to the beverage vessel 100. Theskilled artisan will recognize that there a large variety of ways inwhich the cap 200 and the beverage vessel 100 may be arranged to allowthe cap 200 to be removably connectable to the beverage vessel 100. Injust one example, which is shown in FIG. 11, the cap 200 may be threadedon inner, side surface 250 and the beverage holding vessel 100 may bethreaded on the outer, side surface 130 at or near region 132. (Notethat for the purpose of clarity, neither the expandable device holdingmember 300 nor the expandable device 400 are shown in FIG. 11.) It is tobe understood, however, that the cap 200 is not limited to beingconnectable to the vessel 200 by such threading. Regardless of how thecap 200 is connectable to the vessel 100, the beverage flow-throughmouth 216 is arranged to face the inner, bottom surface 140 of thevessel 100.

Preparing the apparatus 10 for the purpose of allowing a consumer todrink a beverage from it for only a selectable amount of time involvesnot only connecting the various parts of the apparatus 10 together, butalso involves the steps of: (1) adding a beverage to the beverage vessel100; and (2) adding a solvent to the expandable device 400. (These twosteps may be carried out in either order.) Referring to FIG. 12, thebeverage vessel 100 is capable of containing a beverage 5. When theexpandable device holding member 300 is removably connectable to thebeverage vessel 100, the beverage 5 may be dispensed into the beveragevessel 100 before or after the expandable device holding member 300 isremovably connected to the beverage vessel 100. (Any dispensation of thebeverage 5 into the vessel 100 that occurs after the expandable deviceholding member 300 is connected to the vessel 100 may be achieved, forexample, by passing the beverage 5 through the beverage ports 310.)

Referring to FIG. 13, the expandable device 400 is capable of containinga solvent 451 that is capable of dissolving the composition 450. Theskilled artisan will recognize that the expandable device 400 may bearranged in a variety of ways to receive and contain the solvent 451. Asjust one example, a portion of the housing member 410 may be completelyor partially removable from the remainder of the housing member 410. Inthis arrangement, the solvent 451 can be added into the housing member410 when that portion is removed from the housing member 410, withsubsequent reconnection of that portion to the remainder of the housingmember 410 being sufficient to retain the solvent 451 therein thehousing member 410. As another example, the housing member 410 mayinclude a port, such as solvent port 460 of FIG. 14, for example, andmay further include a device for sealing the port, such as solvent portsealing cap 462 of FIG. 14, for example. It is to be understood,however, that these are meant only to serve as exemplary means forallowing the solvent 451 to be added to, and retained within, thehousing member 410, and therefore that the invention is not limitedthereto these examples. Before or after the solvent 451 is added to theexpanding device 400, the expanding device 400 is connected to theexpandable device holding member 300, and the holding member 300 isconnected to the vessel 100. (The nature of the solvent 451 and theeffect that adding the solvent 451 to the expandable device 400 has onthe expandable device 400 is described below.)

After the solvent 451 is added to the expandable device 400, thebeverage 5 is added to the vessel 100, and the expanding device 400 andthe holding member 300 are connected to the vessel 100, the cap 200 thenis removably connected to the vessel 100. In this arrangement, which isshown in FIG. 12, the beverage 5 may flow freely from space 180 (i.e.,the space contained between the inner, bottom surface 140 of the vessel100 and the holding member 300) to space 190 (i.e., the space containedbetween the holding member 300 and the drinking openings 214), and fromspace 190 to space 180, by passing back and forth through the beverageports 310. Therefore, at any given time, depending on the amount of thebeverage 5 that is contained in the apparatus 10 and the orientation ofthe apparatus 10, all of the beverage 5 may be contained in space 180,all of the beverage 5 may be contained in space 190, or some of thebeverage 5 may contained in space 180 and some of the beverage 5 maycontained in space 190.

Prior to about the end of the selectable amount of time, the entireexpandable device 400 is positioned away from the beverage flow-throughmouth 216. (That is, no portion of the expandable device 400 blocks themouth 216.) In this arrangement, the beverage 5 may be dispensed frominside the vessel 100, through the beverage flow-through mouth 216, andthen through the drinking openings 214 of the nipple 212 and to aconsumer, whenever the consumer sucks on the nipple 212. At about theend of the selectable amount of time, however, the expandable device 400will have expanded sufficiently enough to block the beverageflow-through mouth 216. This blocking of the mouth 216 by the expandabledevice 400 effectively prevents the beverage 5 from flowing from thespace 190 to the drinking openings 214. Therefore, this blocking of themouth 216 by the expandable device 400 prevents the beverage 5 frombeing dispensed to the consumer. (It is recognized, however, that insome cases after the mouth 216 is blocked, a small amount of thebeverage 5 may be dispensed to the consumer. For example, this may occurwhen there is some beverage 5 in the nipple 212 at the time ofblocking.)

Specifically, the blocking of the mouth 216 by the expandable device 400may be achieved as follows. As previously mentioned, at the beginning ofthe selectable amount of time, a user of the apparatus 10 adds thesolvent 451 into the chamber 411 of the expandable device 400, whichincludes the soluble composition 450 (which is undissolved at thistime), among its other parts. Preferably, but not essentially, thesolvent 451 is added in sufficient quantity such as to substantiallyfill the chamber 411. During the selectable amount of time, the solvent451 increasingly dissolves the composition 450. Referring to FIG. 15, asthe composition 450 decreases in thickness (in the dimension from thefirst member-retaining portion 432 to the soluble composition retainingportion 427), tension is increasingly released in the spring 440 (i.e.,the spring 440 expands). As the spring 440 expands, the spring 440 movesthe contact portion 423 in the direction 470 and the contact portion 423then moves the expandable portion 412 in the direction 470. When thethickness of the composition 450 has sufficiently decreased or thecomposition 450 has dissolved altogether, either of which will haveoccurred at about the end of the selectable amount of time, both thecontact portion 423 and the expandable portion 412, or only theexpandable portion 412, will be moved into such a position with respectto the flow-through mouth 216 such as to entirely or substantially blockthe beverage 5 from flowing from the space 190 and through theflow-through mouth 216 to the nipple 212. The consumer is prevented fromdrinking the beverage 5 from the apparatus 10 whenever the flow-throughmouth 216 is substantially blocked.

Referring to FIG. 16, in one example, the blocking of the flow-throughmouth 216 is achieved when both the contact portion 423 and theexpandable portion 412 enter the flow-though mouth 216. This entryeffectively blocks the beverage 5 from passing into the flow-throughmouth 216 at region 217.

Referring to FIG. 17, in another example, the blocking of theflow-through mouth 216 is achieved when the expandable portion 412substantially flushly contacts lip 218 of the flow-though mouth 216.This substantially flush contact effectively blocks the beverage 5 frompassing into the flow-through mouth 216 at region 217.

As previously mentioned, the length of the selectable amount of timethat the beverage 5 is available to the consumer is variable andapproximate. For example, the length of the selectable amount of timemay be as short as about 30 minutes or it may be as long as severalhours. In one embodiment, the length of the selectable amount of time isabout 30 minutes to about one hour. In another embodiment, the length ofthe selectable amount of time is about one hour to about two hours. Inyet another embodiment, the length of the selectable amount of time isabout one hour. In yet another embodiment, the length of the selectableamount of time is about 90 minutes. In yet another embodiment, thelength of the selectable amount of time is about two hours. In yetanother embodiment, the length of the selectable amount of time is abouttwo hours to about three hours. In yet another embodiment, the length ofthe selectable amount of time is about 180 minutes. In yet anotherembodiment, the length of the selectable amount of time is about threehours. In yet another embodiment, the length of the selectable amount oftime is about three hours to about four hours. In yet anotherembodiment, the length of the selectable amount of time is about twohours to about four hours. In yet another embodiment, the length of theselectable amount of time is more than about four hours. For example,the length of the selectable amount of time may be about five hours,about six hours, about seven hours, or about eight hours or more.

Further, the length of the selectable amount of time may be dependentupon one or more of a plurality of factors. These factors include, butare not limited to being, the chemical constitution and the conformationand size of the soluble composition 450, and the chemical constitution,the amount, and the temperature of the solvent 451. These factors alsoinclude the nature of the physical treatment, such as may be made duringany optional curing treatment, for example, of the soluble composition450 during the formation thereof.

Although the composition 450 and the solvent 451 are meant to remainwithin the housing member 410 of the expandable device 400 whenever theapparatus 10 is being used, it is recognized that in rare instances theexpandable device 400 may fail in a way that causes the composition 450and/or the solvent 451 to contaminate the beverage 5 and possibly becomeingested by the consumer. Therefore, the constitution of each one of thecomposition 450 and the solvent 451 preferably is one that is harmlessto humans. The skilled artisan will recognize that the composition 450may include any one or more of a large variety of compounds. Forexample, the composition 450 may be formed partially, substantially orentirely from one or more sugars, such as, but not limited to, sucrose,fructose, corn syrup, or any combination thereof.

In one example, the composition 450 is a “hard candy” that is formedsubstantially by corn syrup. A piece of hardened corn syrup (about 98%corn syrup by weight) that is about 5 cm in length by about 2.5 cm inwidth and about 2 cm in height and that weighs about 12 grams will fullydissolve in tap water (pH of about 6.8) at room temperature (about 20°C.-25° C.) with occasional slight mixing in about two hours.

The solvent 451 may be, but is not limited to being, water, milk, fruitjuice or any other substance that is capable of dissolving thecomposition 450. The only limitation of the solvent 451 is that it mustbe capable of dissolving the composition 450 sufficiently enough toallow the expandable device 400 to adequately block the beverage 5 frompassing from the space 190 through the flow-through mouth 216 in thedirection toward the nipple 212.

The skilled artisan further will recognize that the various portions ofthe apparatus 10 may be formed by a variety of materials. For example,the expandable portion 412 may be made from any one or more of a varietyof materials, and therefore the expandable portion 412 is not limited tobeing made from any particular material or materials. For example, theexpandable portion 412 may be made from natural and/or synthetic soft,stretchable rubber. A portion of the expandable portion 412 also may beformed by a hard substance, such as a metal or a rigid plastic, forexample.

As another example, any portion of the expandable device but the solublecomposition may be formed from a plastic and/or a metal. The spring ispreferably formed from metal, such as copper, aluminum, stainless steel,for example. However, the spring is not limited to being formed frommetal, and therefore the spring may be formed from plastic, for example.

As yet another example, the beverage vessel 100 may be formed from aplastic and/or a metal. For example, the beverage vessel 100 may beformed from aluminum and/or stainless steel and/or from polyethylene,polypropylene and/or polystyrene, for example.

As yet another example, the expandable device holding member 300 may beformed from a plastic and/or a metal. For example, the expandable deviceholding member 300 may be formed from aluminum and/or stainless steeland/or from polyethylene, polypropylene and/or polystyrene, for example.

Any one or more parts of the apparatus 10, except for the solublecomposition 450, may be re-usable. That is, any one or more parts of theapparatus 10, except for the soluble composition 450, may be designed tobe used more than one time. For example, the first member 420 withspring 440 and soluble composition 450 associated therewith may made andoffered for sale by a particular manufacturer. In such a case, after thefirst member 420 with spring 440 and soluble composition 450 have beenused once as part of the apparatus 10 (and therefore the solublecomposition 450 has dissolved), the used first member 420 with spring440 (but no composition 450) can be refitted with a second solublecomposition 450, which may be made available by the manufacturerseparately from the first member 420 and the spring 440, and again addedto the expandable device 400 for subsequent use as part of the apparatus10. When any particular part of the apparatus 10 is re-usable, thatre-usable part preferably is constructed to withstand washing, such aswith soap and water, for example, and either by hand or by machine,including by a mechanical dishwasher.

Further, any one or more parts of the apparatus 10 may be disposable.That is, any one or more parts of the apparatus 10 may be designed forsingle-use. After being used, any disposable part then may be replacedwith an unused part in a subsequent use of the apparatus 10. Forexample, the first member 420 with spring 440 and soluble composition450 associated therewith may made and offered for sale by a particularmanufacturer. In such a case, after the first member 420 with spring 440and soluble composition 450 have been used once (and therefore thesoluble composition 450 has dissolved), the used first member 420 withspring 440 (but having no composition 450) can be thrown away by thepurchaser of the apparatus 10 and replaced with another, unused firstmember 420 with spring 440 and soluble composition 450 obtained from themanufacturer. This practice of replacing the first member 420 withspring 440 and soluble composition 450 after every use of the apparatus10 would be convenient to the purchaser/user of the apparatus 10 andwould be financially profitable to the manufacturer of the disposableversion of the first member 420 with spring 440 and soluble composition450.

It is further contemplated that the apparatus 10 and its variouscomponents are not limited to the forms that have already beendescribed. For example, the skilled artisan will recognize that the capof the present invention may be in any one of a plurality of forms. Theonly limitations regarding the cap is that is must include aflow-through mouth that is capable of being blocked by an expandingdevice of the present invention and at least one drinking opening. In analternative embodiment, the cap is cap 201 of FIGS. 18 and 19. Cap 201includes, among its other parts, a mouthpiece 212′ having one or moredrinking openings 214′, and a flow-through mouth 216′ that is capable ofbeing blocked by an expandable device of the present invention. The cap201 is removably connectable to the beverage vessel 100, or to anyequivalent of the beverage vessel 100, as described before.

An exemplary expandable device that is compatible with the cap 201 isexpandable device 401 of FIG. 20. Expandable device 401, which includesamong its other components, first member 420′, second member 430′, thespring 440, the soluble composition 450, expandable portion 412′,expandable portion contact portion 423′, and beverage ports 310′, issimilar to the expandable device 400. One difference, however, is thatthe expandable device 401 is directly and removably connectable to thecap 201, such as shown in FIG. 21, for example. The expandable device401 therefore does not associate with the optional expandable deviceholding member 300 or to any embodiment thereof. In just one example,the removable connection between the cap 201 and the expandable device401 may be achieved by threading each one of the cap 201 at inner,bottom portion 217′ of the mouthpiece 212′ and the expandable device 401at the region where the expandable device 401 contacts the inner, bottomportion 217′ in such a way that the portion 217′ is capable of receivingand securably and removably holding the expandable device 401. It is tobe understood, however, that the expandable device 401 is not limited tobeing connectable to the cap 201 by such threading. The skilled artisanwill recognize that there are a number of ways for removably connectingthe expandable device 401 to the cap 201.

When the expandable device 401 is removably connected to the cap 201,the cap 201 may be connected to a vessel 100 that includes the beverage5 as described before, and the expandable device 401 may be filled withsolvent 451 as described before. When the composition 450 in theexpandable device 401 is not sufficiently dissolved, the beverage 5 mayflow freely from the vessel 100, through the beverage ports 310′,through the mouth 216′, and then through the openings 214′ to aconsumer. At about the end of the selectable period of time afterfilling the expandable device 401 with the solvent 451, however, thesolvent 451 has partially or fully dissolved the composition 450 and theexpandable portion 412′ and expandable portion contact portion 423′ hasblocked the flow-through mouth 216′ as described before. For example,see FIG. 22, which shows the expandable portion 412′ and the expandableportion contact portion 423′ as blocking the flow-through mouth 216′ bybeing within the flow-through mouth 216′. In this arrangement, thebeverage 5 cannot pass from inside the vessel 100 through the mouth 216′(or even through the beverage ports 310′ because the expandable portion412′ substantially blocks the beverage ports 310′ whenever theexpandable portion 412′ blocks the mouth 216′) to the drinking openings214′, and therefore the beverage 5 cannot be consumed by the consumer.

It is also contemplated that the present expandable device, in anyembodiment shown, described or otherwise provided for herein, and/or theoptional expandable device connection member, in any embodiment shown,described or otherwise provided for herein, may be used with existingbaby or child drinking containers and drinking systems, such as, forexample, the Kinder-Grip® Bottle, the VentAire® Standard Bottle, theFirst Sipster® Spill-Proof Cup, and the Insulator® Reusable Bottle, eachone of which is commercially available from the Playtex® Products, Inc.of Allendale, N.J.; the NUK® Bottle, the Gerber® Reusable Bottle, suchas the Clear View™ Nurser Bottle and the Fashion Tints™ Nurser Bottle,the Fun Grips® Soft Starter Spill-Proof Cup, the Fun Grips® Spill-ProofCup, and the Sip & Smile™ Insulated Cup, each one of which iscommercially available from the Gerber® Products Company of Freemont,Mich.; the FunSip™ Spill Proof Cup, the FunSip™ Spill Proof Trainer Cup,and the SipRite™ Spill-Proof Cup, each one of which is commerciallyavailable from the Evenflo® Company, Inc. of Piqua, Ohio; the Avent®Natural Feeding Bottle, the Avent® Tempo Natural Feeding Nurser Bottle,and the Magic™ Trainer Cup, each one of which is commercially availablefrom the Philips Avent® Company, Inc. of Glemsford, Suffolk, England;the Foogo™ Sippy Cup, which is commercially available from Thermos®L.L.C. of Rolling Meadows, Ill.; the Tri-Flow® Wide Mouth Bottle, whichis commercially available from Munchkin, Inc. of North Hills, Calif.;the Bonne Tender Kare Maxi & Mini Feeders and the Bonne Classic & CuteFeeder, each one of which is commercially available from Bonny Baby CarePvt. Ltd. of Uttar Pradesh, India; the Futura 250 ml WideneckPolycarbonate Feeding Bottle and the Futura Non Spill Plastic Sippy(Sipper) Cup, each one of which is commercially available from MustangMouldings Pvt Ltd. of Maharashtra, India; the BornFree™ Bisphenol-A FreePlastic Bottle and BornFree™ Bisphenol-A Free Plastic Training Cup, eachone of which is commercially available from BornFree™ of Boca Raton,Fla.; the Linco® Standard Baby Feeding Bottle and the Linco® Non-SpillSafety Cup, each one of which is commercially available from Linco® BabyMerchandise Works Co., Ltd. of, Changhua Hsien, Taiwan; or any one of alarge plurality of other commercially available drinking containers anddrinking container systems.

While the present invention has been described with particular referenceto certain embodiments, it is to be understood that the presentinvention includes all reasonable equivalents thereof as defined by thefollowing appended claims.

1. A drinking apparatus for dispensing a beverage, comprising: a. abeverage vessel; b. a cap having one or more drinking openings; and c.an expandable device having a soluble composition, wherein theexpandable device is capable of preventing the beverage from beingsubstantially dispensed from the drinking apparatus through the one ormore drinking openings upon partial or entire dissolution of the solublecomposition by a solvent.
 2. The drinking apparatus of claim 1 furthercomprising an expandable device holding member.
 3. The drinkingapparatus of claim 2 wherein the expandable device is removablyconnectable to the expandable device holding member or the expandabledevice is integral with the expandable device holding member.
 4. Thedrinking apparatus of claim 2 wherein the expandable device holdingmember is removably connectable to the beverage vessel or the expandabledevice holding member is integral with the beverage vessel.
 5. Thedrinking apparatus of claim 1 wherein the expandable device is directlyand removably connectable to the cap.
 6. The drinking apparatus of claim1 wherein the cap includes a nipple or a mouthpiece and the one or moredrinking openings are formed through the nipple or the mouthpiece. 7.The drinking apparatus of claim 1 wherein the soluble compositionincludes one or more sugars.
 8. The drinking apparatus of claim 1wherein the solvent is selected from the group consisting of water,milk, and fruit juice.
 9. The drinking apparatus of claim 1 wherein anamount of time required for the solvent to dissolve the solublecomposition sufficiently enough to effect the prevention of the beveragefrom being substantially dispensed from the drinking apparatus isselectable.
 10. The drinking apparatus of claim 9 wherein the amount oftime is at least about 30 minutes.
 11. The drinking apparatus of claim 9wherein the amount of time is about two hours.
 12. The drinkingapparatus of claim 9 wherein the amount of time is about two hours toabout four hours.
 13. The drinking apparatus of claim 9 wherein theamount of time is at least about four hours.
 14. An expandable device,comprising: a. a first member; b. a spring member; c. a solublecomposition; and d. a housing member having an expandable portion,wherein the first member, the spring member, and the soluble compositionare contained within the housing member, wherein the housing member iscapable of containing a solvent that is capable of dissolving thesoluble composition, and wherein the first member causes the expandableportion to protrude from the remainder of the housing member uponpartial or entire dissolution of the soluble composition by the solvent.15. The expandable device of claim 14 wherein the expandable device isremovably connected to or is integral with a drinking apparatus, andwherein the expandable device is capable of preventing a beverage frombeing substantially dispensed from the drinking apparatus upon partialor entire dissolution of the soluble composition by the solvent.
 16. Theexpandable device of claim 14 wherein an amount of time required for thesolvent to partially or entirely dissolve the soluble composition isselectable.
 17. The expandable device of claim 16 wherein the amount oftime is at least about 30 minutes.
 18. The expandable device of claim 16wherein the amount of time is about two hours.
 19. The expandable deviceof claim 16 wherein the amount of time is about two hours to about fourhours.
 20. The expandable device of claim 16 wherein the amount of timeis at least about four hours.